Open-source alternative
Replace FreshBooks with Akaunting / Invoice Ninja
The best open-source alternative to FreshBooks is Akaunting or Invoice Ninja, self-hosted on Railway. Invoices and books you host. Akaunting is the open-source accounting app; Invoice Ninja is the source-available invoicing suite.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How FreshBooks compares
| FreshBooks | Akaunting / Invoice Ninja | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Plan subscription (client-capped) | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | $23/mo Lite (list; promotional discounts vary) source | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- Akaunting
Open-source online accounting
- Invoice Ninja
Source-available invoices, quotes, and time tracking
FAQ
- Is it free?
- The Akaunting / Invoice Ninja licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no FreshBooks seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from FreshBooks?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Akaunting / Invoice Ninja stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old FreshBooks links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Akaunting / Invoice Ninja stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Invoice Ninja or Akaunting + MySQL and a volume. SMTP via Resend. Lock the admin.
- What does this replace?
- QuickBooks / FreshBooks. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
Related pages
Stack of the Week
Get one stack a week that replaces a SaaS bill.